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A Dangerous Mourning (William Monk Novels)
by Anne Perry
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Fawcett (1992-09-23)
ISBN: 0804110379
EAN: 9780804110372
Dewy Decimal #: 823.914
Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
Edition: 1st Mass Market Ed
Release Date: 1992-09-23
SKU: MOZ124848
Condition: Very Good
Comments: 0804110379 MMPB free of markings. Cover shows light to moderate wear. Interior & spine evidence only gentle use; overall, a very serviceable copy. Your book will be carefully protected for transit in sturdy, weather-resistant packaging. We are prompt, efficient, communicative.
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
Inspector William Monk has his hands full when an aristocrat's daugher is stabbed to death in her own bed. He is instructed to proceed without delay, but finds his efforts hamstrung by the lingering traces of amnesia and the craven ineptitutde of his supervisor, who would love to see him fail. With the help of Hester Latterly, formerly a nurse with Florence Nightingale, Monk gropes warily through the silence and shadows, knowing that with each step he comes closer to the appalling truth....
"A richly textured, masterfully plotted, thoroughly enjoyable story."
THE KIRKUS REVIEWS
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Customer Reviews
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Monk isn't Pitt, but he isn't supposed to be
Rating  (4)
Date: 2008-05-08
It's interesting to compare this newer series of period murder mysteries to Perry's longer-running "Pitt" series. Both are set in Victorian London, but this series, about William Monk, take place roughly a generation before those featuring Thomas Pitt. But there are quite a few points in common: Pitt and Monk are both strict followers of justice and the truth, let the chips fall where they may -- though Monk has a rather darker personality and considerably more arrogance than Pitt. Both have a good deal of trouble dealing with weak or incompetent superiors (Monk) or dangerously strong superiors (Pitt). Where Pitt has his wife, Charlotte, and his sister-in-law, Emily, to act (often without his approval) as undercover investigators in the homes of Society, Monk has the assistance of Hester Latterly, a nurse trained under fire in the Crimea, and Oliver Rathbone, defense attorney. And Pitt's sometime ally, Aunt Vespasia, is balanced by Hester's friend, Callandra Daviot, both ladies being well ensconced within the upper ranks of Society and neither being willing to bend to convention when it doesn't suit them. Perry also makes a point of including a social theme in each of her novels. In this case, it's the military incompetence and sheer waste of men indulged in by Britain in the Crimean War. The specific plot involves the apparent murder of the widowed daughter of a very powerful man and the realization that the culprit has to be someone within the house -- either a member of the family or one of the servants. Monk and Sgt. Evan spend a great deal of time eliminating suspects and motives, and uncovering dirty little secrets, until they're left with almost nothing -- and therein lies the solution. And in the course of the investigation, Monk has it out with his boss and is dismissed from the force, after which he sets up as a private inquiry agent. In the quality of its writing and the development of the characters, especially those below-stairs, this is one of Perry's more successful efforts.
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I'm mourning overkill
Rating  (3)
Date: 2005-07-20
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
I was very impressed with the first book, Face of a Stranger, and expected to like the series. "A Dangerous Mourning" has a serious problem with pacing, and I don't require new drama on every page. But it goes on and on and on and on...retelling the same stuff, going over all the same ground. It's creditable that Monk is so persistent (even though he didn't solve the crime), but a few well written paragraphs could have summed up about 150 pages of this book. Perry doesn't seem to realize that verbatim interviews aren't necessary when characters just repeat what they've said before.
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I can't believe all of the bad reviews!
Rating  (5)
Date: 2003-05-27
2 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
This novel was thrilling from start to finish and it left me guessing until the very end. I do agree that the book had too much information in it that really had nothing to do with the story, but all in all this was a thrilling and entertaining read!
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End of the series(for me!)
Rating  (2)
Date: 2001-08-26
2 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
Having read the first "Monk" book, "Face of a Stranger," I was excited when I received this offering. The excitement didn't last very long. Regretfully, I got half-way through and couldn't pick it up again. Bogged down in too much non-essential, confusing detail.
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An Inspector Monk novel where someone else solves the case?
Rating  (1)
Date: 2001-02-09
5 out of 11 customers found this reveiw helpful
I found this book an utterly dreary bit of work. It is filled with incredibly two dimensional characters. As well as the fact that there are so many characters that none of them are done in any depth. And nearly all are sterotypes. All the ladies and gentlemen in the story are overly dimwitted. As does the hero of the book Inspector Monk. Who is truely baffled and wanders around asking the same questions over and over. It became quite boring after a while. The book slowed down to a crawl at times and desperatly needed some life in it. The fact that Monk really does fail to work out what was going on is very disapointing. Especially when compared to The face of a stranger. Which I did enjoy reading. The real heroine in this story is Hester Lattery. As she is the only one who really works anything out. Her being written into this novel I find dubious at best. My opinion is that she should have worked more with Monk and his assistant Evan both of who hold much potential as characters. There was also two much courtroom drama. Which in a mystery novel I find absolutly little need for. It was almost as if Perry was confused as to what she wanted to write. A mystery novel or a courtroom battle. I feel much of the courtroom was written so Hester Lattery had an enterence and no more than that. As the dealings of it have absolutly no relevance to this book. The good part of the book is the plot and the setting. The ideas she has are good and interesting. The main characters are interesting and have alot of potential. They were just under used or poorly done this time round. However I have not given up on her yet and I will read the third book Defend and Betray.
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